“Midnight in Paris,” written and directed by Woody Allen, is a romantic comedy with elements of magical realism and time travel. It’s also one of his best films in recent years with its engaging premise, appealing cast and alluring scenes of Paris. Owen Wilson plays Gil, a frustrated TV writer who is engaged to the abrasive Inez (Rachel McAdams). The pair accompanies her smug, ultra-conservative parents on a business trip to Paris. As a couple, they are obviously mismatched. He’s a simple guy who dreams of writing a novel, a notion the materialistic Inez scoffs at. One night, instead of going out with Inez and her snobbish friend, Paul (Michael Sheen), Gil opts to wander the streets of Paris. Shortly after midnight, an old-time roadster pulls up alongside him and a group of partygoers urge him to join them. Gil finds himself transported to another era and he meets, among others, F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) and Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody). Hemingway introduces him to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), who gives advice on the novel Gil has been quietly writing. At Stein’s house, Gil meets Adriana (Marion Cotillard), a beautiful woman who is the complete opposite of Inez. While Gil couldn’t be happier in the Paris of the ‘20s, Adriana pines for another era she considers golden – turn-of-the-century Paris, La Belle Époque.
“Midnight in Paris” has a clear idea about longing for an idealized past. When Gil sees Adriana yearning for a better time, he realizes that no period is idyllic and that he can find happiness in the present. Owen Wilson is clearly a stand-in for Allen and occasionally, you can almost hear Woody speaking the lines. Gil, however, is not neurotic, which allows his character to be more sympathetic. And Wilson does a superb job as Gil, with his trademark naïveté and goofball look. And many of the secondary characters are scene-stealers, including Kathy Bates, Corey Stoll and Adrian Brody. “Midnight in Paris,” a definite love letter to Paris, is whimsical and smart and sure to please. 5/20/11
1 comment:
Much better than most of the Woody Allen movies of late, this fantasy is a very cute story that should delight the city fathers of Paris. Anyone who has not travelled to Paris will want to go immediatly..
Who knows, you might even meet up with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald???
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